The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center University Hospital is a $1.79 billion, 26-story, 1.9-million-square-foot inpatient hospital tower located at 520 W. Cannon Drive on Ohio State’s medical campus in Columbus, Ohio, the largest single-facility construction project in OSU’s history and the largest single-facility hospital project to open in the United States in 2026. Designed to replace the aging 1951-era Rhodes Hall and Doan Hall, the building delivers 820 private patient rooms, 24 operating rooms, advanced critical care units, the region’s only Level 4 maternity care facility across the top three floors, 148 additional beds for The James Cancer Hospital, and state-of-the-art technology in every room, all within a 410-foot glass-and-brick tower that ranks as the 10th tallest building in Columbus. The hospital opened on February 22, 2026, with 425 patients transferred through three dedicated routes into their new private rooms in under eight hours, completing a five-year construction programme on schedule. Its opening arrives just weeks before crosstown rival OhioHealth broke ground on its own landmark Columbus investment — a $226 million Comprehensive Outpatient Cancer Center at the David P. Blom Administrative Campus — a five-storey, 199,000-square-foot facility consolidating dispersed oncology services into a single purpose-built destination targeting completion in late 2028, together cementing Columbus’s position as one of the most comprehensively resourced healthcare markets in the American Midwest.

Project Overview

Type: New-build academic medical centre inpatient hospital tower

Location: 520 W. Cannon Drive, Ohio State University Medical Campus, Columbus, Ohio

Total project cost: $1.79 billion

Total building size: 1.9 million square feet

Height: 26 stories (24 patient floors); 410 feet tall — 10th tallest building in Columbus; tallest outside downtown

Total beds: 820 private rooms (replacing 440 beds in Rhodes Hall and Doan Hall; net addition of ~380 beds)

Bed types: Medical/surgical, critical care, maternity (floors 22–24), cancer (148 beds for The James), ICU, NICU (60 bassinets)

Operating rooms: 24

Special designation: Region’s only Level 4 maternity care hospital

Construction started: October 2020

Keys handed to hospital: Fall 2025

Hospital opened: February 22, 2026; 425 patients transferred in under 8 hours

Largest single-facility hospital project opening in the United States in 2026

Materials used: 2× more concrete than Ohio Stadium; 2× more steel than the Eiffel Tower

Parking: New 1,900-space parking garage connected via covered bridge

Campus connections: Physically connected to The James Cancer Hospital, Ross Heart Hospital, Rhodes Hall, Doan Hall, Brain and Spine Hospital via hallways and bridges

Technology: Advanced in-room technology in every patient room; AI-assisted care tools; 24/7 dining service

Amenities: Indoor café, conservatory garden, outdoor park, conference facilities, family pull-out couches in every room

Daily staffing: ~12,000 providers and support staff

Project delivery model: Construction Management at-Risk (CMaR)

Project Team

Owner: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

OSU Wexner Medical Center CEO: John J. Warner, MD (Executive VP, Ohio State)

OSU President: Walter “Ted” Carter Jr.

OSU Wexner COO: Jay Anderson

Interim Chief Nursing Officer, University Hospital & Ross Heart Hospital: Traci Mignery, RN

Chief Clinical Officer: Andrew Thomas, MD

General Contractor (JV): Turner Construction + The Walsh Group

Contractor (regional partner): Smoot Construction Company (Columbus-based)

Architect: HKS Inc. (healthcare architecture)

MEP Engineer: Not publicly listed

Programme: Part of Ohio State Framework 2.0 long-term campus planning vision

Published 23rd September 2020: The Ohio State University has received unanimous Board of Trustees approval to undertake the largest single facilities project ever in the university. At 1.9-million-square-feet, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Inpatient Hospital will enhance leading-edge research, clinical training and world-class patient care. This is the next step in the university’s long-term Framework 2.0 planning and the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center strategic plan.

The hospital will have up to 820 beds in private room settings to elevate patient-centered care, safety and training for the next generation of health care providers. Renderings of the 26-story (24-floor) hospital reveal a sleek glass and brick structure designed to maximize light in patient rooms to improve outcomes. Scheduled to open in early 2026, the hospital has a total project cost of US $1.79bn. Planning is years in the making and advances Framework 2.0, the university’s long-term planning vision that outlines development planning across campus to advance health care, research and the arts.

The facility will provide students, faculty and staff with increased access to leading-edge digital technologies to advance patient care, teaching and research. The inpatient hospital will be located east of Cannon Drive and will forge stronger connections with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC—James), Rhodes Hall, Doan Hall, the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital and the Brain and Spine Hospital.

The new inpatient hospital project will include: Up to 820 beds, replacing and expanding on the 440 beds in Rhodes Hall and Doan Hall; the OSUCCC—James will gain 148 beds – 84 new and 64 resulting from construction backfilling; 60 neonatal intensive care unit bassinets; State-of-the-art diagnostic, treatment and inpatient service areas; emergency department; imaging; operating rooms; and critical care and medical/surgical beds; Renovation of the OSUCCC—James and Ross Heart Hospital for blood bank, support services and building connections.

Each patient room will be a private space with a bathroom and pullout couch so that family members can be with their loved ones throughout their hospital stays. A bright indoor café, conservatory garden and outdoor park areas will provide restorative spaces where friends and families can eat, talk and recharge without leaving the medical campus. Conference facilities will serve as the intellectual center of the Wexner Medical Center and seven health sciences colleges, bringing together health care providers, research scientists, faculty and students.

The inpatient hospital joins other Ohio State Wexner Medical Center projects already underway to improve and expand access to academic health care in the region. Outpatient care centers are currently under construction in New Albany and Dublin. Program offerings will include outpatient surgery, endoscopy, primary care, specialty medical and surgical clinics and related support spaces. A third outpatient care center is slated for Ohio State’s West Campus Innovation District.

The approximately 385,000-square-foot, cancer-focused facility will include central Ohio’s first proton therapy treatment facility in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This month the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center East Hospital opened a surgical expansion, the first phase of a complete remodeling of the facility.

An off-site Central Sterile Supply building at Kenny and Ackerman roads will also serve Ohio State Wexner Medical Center hospitals and outpatient care centers beginning in summer 2021. An inpatient hospital Garage will open in early 2021 and complement the new inpatient hospital with up to 1,900 spaces to serve patients and visitors by replacing the North and South Cannon garages. The additional, proximate parking will help create a more seamless and convenient patient experience.

According to Ohio State President-elect Kristina M. Johnson, the new inpatient hospital will serve as a model for 21st-century hospitals by further integrating research, diagnosis, treatment and education. “Ohio State is advancing the future of health care for a rapidly growing community, and this serves as an investment in the health and wellness of the state of Ohio,” he said.

“I am excited to move forward with the construction of an expanded state-of-the-art hospital facility that reflects the extraordinary care provided by our clinicians and staff. The pandemic has made clear that cutting-edge facilities are necessary to care for patients and families across our region,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for Health Affairs at The Ohio State University and CEO of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

“The new hospital will allow us to serve more patients and align hospital resources with an interprofessional education model and innovative research, allowing us to translate groundbreaking discoveries into patient care more quickly than ever before. Most importantly, this tower positions us to be a leader in the rapidly changing health care landscape by revolutionizing the way care is delivered,” he added.